Multiple mechanisms of minor moraine formation in the Schwarzensteinkees foreland, Austria
(2021) In Special Paper of the Geological Society of America 548. p.193-207- Abstract
This paper presents a detailed sedimentologic data set of minor moraines (heights ≤2.0 m, widths ≤14 m, lengths ≤108 m) that formed beginning near the end of the Little Ice Age by Schwarzensteinkees, a valley glacier in Austria. Sorted sediment and stratified diamict dominate five exposures, and compact massive diamict exists in one exposure. This sediment is interpreted as proglacial outwash and subglacial till. Most moraine sediment shows deformation structures (e.g., smaller and larger folds), and some units contain evidence of water escape. Other units maintain their original sub-horizontality. All moraines contain unequivocal evidence of having formed through deformation by pushing during ice-margin fluctuations. Minor moraines... (More)
This paper presents a detailed sedimentologic data set of minor moraines (heights ≤2.0 m, widths ≤14 m, lengths ≤108 m) that formed beginning near the end of the Little Ice Age by Schwarzensteinkees, a valley glacier in Austria. Sorted sediment and stratified diamict dominate five exposures, and compact massive diamict exists in one exposure. This sediment is interpreted as proglacial outwash and subglacial till. Most moraine sediment shows deformation structures (e.g., smaller and larger folds), and some units contain evidence of water escape. Other units maintain their original sub-horizontality. All moraines contain unequivocal evidence of having formed through deformation by pushing during ice-margin fluctuations. Minor moraines formed more specifically by three identified processes: (1) pushing of outwash sediment; (2) stacking and pushing of outwash sediment; and (3) pushing of outwash sediment and freezing-on of subglacial till. Our data suggest that the sedimentologic composition of the valley fill influences the style of push-moraine formation. In this case, the friable nature of outwash sediments can increase the efficiency of the pushing ice front and the likelihood of sediment collapse down the proximal ice-contact slope after ice retreat. This study contributes to our understanding of sediment transport and deposition in high-mountain environments.
(Less)
- author
- Wyshnytzky, Cianna E. ; Lukas, Sven LU and Groves, John W.E.
- organization
- publishing date
- 2021-04
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- host publication
- Untangling the Quaternary Period—A Legacy of Stephen C. Porter
- series title
- Special Paper of the Geological Society of America
- volume
- 548
- pages
- 15 pages
- publisher
- Geological Society of America
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85126774512
- ISSN
- 0072-1077
- ISBN
- 9780813795485
- DOI
- 10.1130/2020.2548(10)
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- e512b725-6664-4794-8ba8-a0e40499a3e8
- date added to LUP
- 2022-05-03 11:24:14
- date last changed
- 2023-05-10 09:34:25
@inbook{e512b725-6664-4794-8ba8-a0e40499a3e8,
abstract = {{<p>This paper presents a detailed sedimentologic data set of minor moraines (heights ≤2.0 m, widths ≤14 m, lengths ≤108 m) that formed beginning near the end of the Little Ice Age by Schwarzensteinkees, a valley glacier in Austria. Sorted sediment and stratified diamict dominate five exposures, and compact massive diamict exists in one exposure. This sediment is interpreted as proglacial outwash and subglacial till. Most moraine sediment shows deformation structures (e.g., smaller and larger folds), and some units contain evidence of water escape. Other units maintain their original sub-horizontality. All moraines contain unequivocal evidence of having formed through deformation by pushing during ice-margin fluctuations. Minor moraines formed more specifically by three identified processes: (1) pushing of outwash sediment; (2) stacking and pushing of outwash sediment; and (3) pushing of outwash sediment and freezing-on of subglacial till. Our data suggest that the sedimentologic composition of the valley fill influences the style of push-moraine formation. In this case, the friable nature of outwash sediments can increase the efficiency of the pushing ice front and the likelihood of sediment collapse down the proximal ice-contact slope after ice retreat. This study contributes to our understanding of sediment transport and deposition in high-mountain environments.</p>}},
author = {{Wyshnytzky, Cianna E. and Lukas, Sven and Groves, John W.E.}},
booktitle = {{Untangling the Quaternary Period—A Legacy of Stephen C. Porter}},
isbn = {{9780813795485}},
issn = {{0072-1077}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{193--207}},
publisher = {{Geological Society of America}},
series = {{Special Paper of the Geological Society of America}},
title = {{Multiple mechanisms of minor moraine formation in the Schwarzensteinkees foreland, Austria}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/2020.2548(10)}},
doi = {{10.1130/2020.2548(10)}},
volume = {{548}},
year = {{2021}},
}